That’s the number Nazem Kadri wears proudly and successfully with the AHL Marlies, and rather than again give him No. 43, like a reserve linebacker on this his fifth promotion to the Maple Leafs, give him Mats Sundin’s old number and make him feel as though the club really wants him to be a star.

Disrespect to Sundin? Not even close. That number will never be retired, just honoured. If it was okay for Mark Osborne to wear Borje Salming’s No. 21 and if it’s okay for Colby Armstrong to wear Teeder Kennedy’s No. 9 and if it’s okay for Cody Franson to wear the No. 4 that once adorned the backs of both Red Kelly and Hap Day when they were Leafs, then giving Kadri No. 13 is no insult to Sundin 3 ½ years after he left town.

Will the Leafs do it? Undoubtedly no. They seem to have gone overboard in making Kadri understand that his status as the first player selected by Brian Burke during his tenure in Toronto accords him no special status at all, that being highly skilled and the seventh pick of the 2009 entry draft just means he’ll have to work as hard — or harder — than any other player to crack the NHL lineup.

So No. 13 will almost certainly stay in mothballs, even though giving it to Kadri would clearly be a huge statement of confidence in the young man.

This is not to say the Leaf approach with this prospect has been all wrong. In fact, after decades of rushing youngsters, Kadri has surely not been rushed. He has served a lengthy apprenticeship. Thursday night against Buffalo will be his 100th pro game and 66 of those have been in the AHL.

The six players taken ahead of him in ’09 are all in the NHL. Several taken after him are as well, like Jared Cowan, Dmitri Kulikov, Marcus Johansson and Ryan O’Reilly.

Now it’s time to let Little Nazzy become a man. Time to see if he can fly.

So start with the number and tell Kadri he’ll be an NHLer for the rest of this season, or at least as long as he’s a Leaf this season.

No more up and down to the Marlies. If events or his performance dictate that by the March trade deadline he’s moved elsewhere for a part the Leafs feel they can use more, then it will be up to that team to decide whether to do the yo-yo thing with him.

But part of getting Kadri to play like the player the Leafs have long believed he can be is to communicate to him that belief. Enough of the tough love.

He can’t dangle and make plays if he’s sitting on the bench thinking the next turnover will have him headed back to the Ricoh Coliseum.

For the most part, he’s done what the Leafs and Marlies have asked him to do. Sure, he still needs to be lured or browbeaten or tricked into hitting the weight room, which means he still doesn’t have the strong build or endurance to allow him to play consistently well in his own zone at the NHL level.

But on a recent trip to Atlantic Canada he was pure dynamite, and he leaves the Marlies leading them in scoring. He hasn’t done a Kyle Turris and demanded a trade to a team that will treat him nicer. He wants to be a Leaf and the Leafs could surely use secondary scoring for a lineup that has been mostly about Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul.

He returns, apparently, as a right winger this time around, joining a unit centred by Tim Connolly with Clarke MacArthur on the left side. That’s not ideal. He’s been playing centre with the Marlies, usually with Mike Zigomanis on his line to take draws and somebody like captain Ryan Hamilton or speedy Jerry D’Amigo on the other wing to dig for pucks.

He’s played the left side but right wing isn’t Kadri’s position. But at least he’s joining a unit with proven offensive players. The trick now is to give him an extended look and try to find somebody who gels with him.

If the Leafs do that and Kadri still can’t cut it, well, then it may be decision time. He’s got another season on his entry-level deal but it’s hard to imagine that if he flunks this audition it’s ever going to happen for him with the Leafs.

That happens. A lot. MacArthur’s a great example of a player who didn’t figure it out until his third team and his seventh pro season.

Kadri will almost certainly be an NHL player. The Leafs just need to find out now if it can be for them.

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